There have been some high-profile security breaches and data losses in the news: banks and other financial institutions losing customer data, stores and retailers suffering data loss through hackers and in some cases, customer data just being thrown away.

Although it isn’t clear if this is a hoax or film of some janitors exhibiting an actual find, a video posted on YouTube has garnered a lot of attention in the news.

In the video, loan applications, account data and personal information on customers are found unshredded in the trash outside a J.P. Morgan Chase bank branch. Last year, Chase was in the news for accidentally throwing out tapes of sensitive data on 2.6 million customers who held Circuit City credit cards issued through Chase.

While the film is being called a hoax and a set-up by the SEIU (Service Employees’ International Union) which is currently trying to unionize security workers, the lesson about safe-guarding personal data is well-taken. Too often consumers themselves will dispose of sensitive bank receipts and credit card statements without first ensuring that they are shredded so that no personal information can be gleaned from them.

Americans continue to lose money to identity fraud and more victims lose more money each year.

You don’t have to be smart to be rich, says Jay Zagorsky, a research scientist at Ohio State University, and intelligence doesn’t necessarily translate into wealth. Having a higher IQ does generally mean higher income; however, even those with super high IQ’s over 125 occasionally miss payments and max out their credit cards.

The reasons that those with higher incomes and IQ’s face just as many financial struggles as people of average and lower than average intelligence are not completely understood but it is thought that those with high IQ’s may not be saving. Wealth is about saving money and not just income.

Read the article at the OSU website.

At a Congressional hearing of the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, speakers explored ways to clear up the subprime mortgage mess.

ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) have fueled the foreclosure increase when, after the initial fixed part of the loan ends, rates balloon into payments borrowers can no longer afford.

In addition to setting up a rescue fund for borrowers who face short-term problems due to illness or job layoff, recommendations included establishing a bond fund to help pay for borrowers switching out of their ARMs and into traditional fixed-rate mortgages. In cases where consumers fall victim to predatory lenders, the government would refinance loans through Fannie Mae.

Lenders may be willing to go along with these recommendations due to the cost of foreclosures. Typically, a bank loses money on a foreclosure because of costs involved in keeping the house on the books, maintenance and sales commissions. Additionally, houses that have been foreclosed upon sell for less than market value.

Panelists at the hearing included spokesmen for the FDIC, HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, various consumer groups and lenders.

The price of a gallon of gasoline is closing in on the $3 range over much of the country with prices in five states, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Nevada and Washington, over $3 per gallon.

This time around the $3 mark, consumers aren’t complaining as much and seem to accept the rising prices as normal and expected.

California drivers are hit hardest with the average gasoline price at $3.35 per gallon. The lowest price in the nation is in North Carolina, where in Winston-Salem you can fill up at only $2.47 per gallon.

For those who have purchased hybrid vehicles to help them avoid the gas-crunch, there is more bad news. Traction control problems haunt Toyota’s Prius with consumer complaints increasing. Consumers living in snowy or hilly areas have had problems when the traction control, which is computer-operated, shuts down engine power in slippery conditions. Toyota maintains that the traction control is operating properly, reducing or shutting down power to the engine when it detects wheel spin. This can happen even if the car goes over a bump. Toyota has been reluctant to make any changes, causing consternation for owners.